Every African, heard in their own voice.
Oya is the voice layer between people and the AI they already use. We started in Nigeria, with the languages and accents people really speak, and we're growing country by country until talking to technology in your own language is simply normal, everywhere in Africa.
Nigeria first. Then Africa.
A high-level view for users, builders and partners. The order is firm; the timing moves with what we learn from the people using Oya.
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Now Live
Live in Nigeria
Talk to AI in the languages Nigerians speak, mixed the way they really speak them.
- Five languages: Nigerian English, Pidgin, Yorùbá, Igbo and Hausa
- The Oya app, on the web and iPhone
- A realtime voice API for builders
- The voice program, paid and open to adults in Nigeria
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Next
Sound more like home
Better voices, more choice and less waiting.
- More voices and accents to choose from
- Choose your AI: Claude today, with ChatGPT, Grok and Gemini to come
- Faster replies
- SDKs that make building on Oya simpler
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Then
Across Africa
New countries, starting with our neighbours in West Africa.
- Ghana first: Twi, Ga, Ewe, and Ghanaian Pidgin and English
- More of West Africa
- East and Southern Africa, from Swahili to isiZulu
- The voice program opening in each new country
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Later
Our own speech model
A model built with the voices people add to Oya, with their consent.
- Hears how you say something, not just what you say
- Listens and speaks at the same time, like a person
- Shaped around African languages and accents from the start
Built with people, not scraped.
Speech data is people's voices. These rules hold at every step, in every country.
Testing, training and commercial use are separate choices, and the record is kept with every clip.
We never learn from conversations unless the speaker opted in. Withdraw any time and your recordings are deleted.
Women and men, young and old, city and village, so Oya works for everyone, not just one accent.
This needs many voices.
Oya gets better with every person who adds their voice, their ear or their network. Tell us how you'd like to help: hello@heyoya.io
Paid recording sessions on your own phone, about 30 minutes, in any of the five languages. Join the voice program
Native speakers to translate prompts, transcribe and check recordings, and rate voices.
Teams with a real use for African voice: customer support, booking, health, education.
Oya.
Hear where it is today, then read how to build on it.